HAMPTON -- The Wallkill Valley field hockey team may have finished .500 a season ago, but it is still on a mission to secure its first winning record since 2012.

The Rangers' march toward that goal has gotten off to an encouraging start this season.

On Wednesday afternoon, Wallkill Valley poured the pressure on early and often and scored a 4-0 victory over Kittatinny in the teams' NJAC Colonial Division opener at Kittatinny High School. For the first time since 2011, when they finished with a 14-5 record, the Rangers are off to a 3-0 start.

"It's really important for us, especially for the (Hunterdon Warren Sussex Tournament) and states, to start off as strong as we possibly can," Rangers senior captain Morgan Carr said. "We know that we had some harder games, and we had some difficulties because one of our good players got hurt and we have new coaches, so we have a lot of things going for us.

"We've worked very, very hard in practice. We haven't been as lazy as we were last year. Coming out strong was really important for us."

After winning two straight one-goal games to start the season against Parsippany and High Point, the Rangers attacked non-stop in the first half to gain a sizable 3-0 advantage after 30 minutes.

Wallkill Valley peppered Kittatinny goalie Tess Miller with five shots in the opening 10 minutes before finally finding the back of the net.

With 20:09 to play in the first half, Morgan Carr slipped a shot across the mouth of the net to the right post that Tara Brody was able to stick home for the opening goal of the game.

"It's really great to have Morgan, who has such great control of the ball," Brody said. "It makes my job so easy. When she drives up the field, it's beautiful the way she can pass and I just tip it in. Everything works so nicely together, which is why I think we have so much success with the way we shoot on goal."

The Cougars could not put a shot on net until the final 10 seconds of the first half when Annie Moore had a shot kicked out by Rangers goalie Kristina Yakkey.

Wallkill Valley, meanwhile, added two more goals late in the half. With less than eight minutes to play in the opening half, Frankie Ciasullo worked ahead on the break and fed a pass to Carr, who threaded a diagonal shot from the left side into the corner of the net. Less than three minutes later, Carr threw a shot on net that was saved by Miller, but Ciasullo put in the rebound to make it 3-0.

"When you score early, it's kind of like they already have to come back from the start of the game," Carr said. "If you start one-up, you're already two steps ahead of them. To put three in in the first half was a really big thing.

"Later in the half, we started new positions in case of different games if other girls get hurt. I think we would have put more in if we had people in their normal positions."

Rangers head coach Irene Chernati was intent on the fact that her team needs to improve moving forward following the win, but attributed their early success to play of the Rangers' upperclassmen.

"We have a long way to go," Chernati said. "I'm looking toward the older girls to give the leadership and direction to the newer sophomores that are playing. Their leadership and dedication, no matter win or lose, I can't ask for anything more than they're giving me right now."

Throughout the first half, the Rangers rarely allowed the Cougars to carry the ball across the midfield line.

That steady pressure on Kittatinny's clear attempts led to several strong scoring opportunities for the Rangers. Despite 11 saves from Miller in the opening half, Wallkill Valley was able to take a three-goal lead into the break.

"It really helps keep the ball in our side of the field because it keeps the morale up," Brody said. "The more shots we can get on goal, the more likely it is for us to score. Scoring early sets a precedent for the rest of the game, so it hypes the mood for the game."

Carr added her second goal of the game less than two minutes into the second half.

But from that point forward, the Cougars dictated the run of play. With assistance from two Wallkill Valley yellow cards, Kittatinny earned a possession advantage in the second half but could not score despite throwing seven shots on targer against Yakkey.

And despite the Rangers' first shutout of the season and a 3-0 start, Chernati still believes her team needs to get better.

"It's nice, but we have to play cleaner hockey than we did today," Chernati said.

The hot start may be exciting for the Rangers' players, but with a Colonial Division crown on their mind and reigning North 1, Group 1 champion Newton standing in their way of achieving that goal, it's best to take a proactive approach moving forward.

And keeping their undefeated start intact doesn't get any easier, with Wallkill Valley facing defending NJAC American Division champion Mount Olive this afternoon.

"We take every win with a grain of sand because you can't be too cocky," Brody said. "You always want to make sure that you're humble and you do have perspective on the games. We do have bigger games and we do have a long season ahead of us. It's great to start off this way and be so explosive and be able to say that we're 3-0 and we're coming forward."

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